Baseball; L.S.U. Takes College Title

AP

Published: June 9, 1991

OMAHA, June 8—
Louisiana State scored a 6-3 victory over Wichita State today to capture the College World Series championship game as Chad Ogea allowed four hits in seven-plus innings and Armando Rios hit a two-run homer.

The fourth-seeded Tigers (55-18), who hit .348 in their first three victories in the tournament, set one Series record and tied another in their four-game sweep to the title in their first championship appearance.

The Tigers' average of 12 runs a game bettered the mark of 11 by Notre Dame in 1957. L.S.U.'s nine homers in four games tied the record set by Arizona State in 1981.

Third-seeded Wichita State (66-13), with the nation's top earned run average this season, failed to win for the second time in three title games. The Shockers won the title in 1989, beating Texas, 5-3, and lost to Miami, 9-3, in the 1982 final.

Control problems proved costly to Shockers starter Tyler Green (11-2). He walked Tookie Johnson and Rios to open the game, then threw wildly on a pickoff attempt at second, moving the runners to second and third. Johnson was out trying to score on Lyle Mouton's grounder to third, but Rios went to third and scored on Rich Cordani's sacrifice fly. Pat Garrity later singled home Mouton.

Billy Hall led off the Shockers' first with a single, stole second and third, and scored on Jim Audley's grounder.

Rios made it 4-1 with his fourth homer of the season after Johnson singled with two out in the second.

Rios started another two-run inning for L.S.U. in the fourth when he was hit by a Darren Dreifort pitch with two out. Mouton walked and both scored on Cordani's triple.

The Shockers scored once in the fourth without a hit. Audley walked, went to second on a passed ball and reached third on Doug Mirabelli's fly ball before scoring on Todd Dreifort's sacrifice fly.

Ogea (14-5), who permitted three singles through seven innings, gave up a leadoff homer to Tommy Tilma in the eighth, then walked Hall and was relieved by Rick Greene.

Photo: Luis Garcia and his Louisiana State teammates after defeating Wichita State to win the College World Series. (Associated Press)